Antibodies are the most commonly used reagents in life science research. However, reproducibility issues caused by inappropriate antibodies are contributing to Avoidable Experiment Expenditure, where time and resources are spent on unsuccessful experiments and unverifiable conclusions, despite careful planning and preparation. 

Ensuring antibody specificity is crucial for executing successful and reproducible experiments, so we developed new features on BenchSci to help you find antibodies that have been properly validated. One such feature is our Verification filter. Last year, we developed this technology and implemented the genetic and overexpression pillars as described in Nature. Now, we’re excited to announce we have enhanced the Verification filter to include all five Nature pillars, as well as two additional pillars that have been adopted by industry-leading vendors! 

Antibody validations are carried out by researchers, third party institutions, or vendors to assess how effective, discriminating, and specific an antibody is. Cross-referencing the results of different or independent experiments with antibody-centric experiments is the basis of verification. The Verification filter refines your search to include only antibodies that have been tested in one (or more!) of these experiments. Depending on what BenchSci page you are on, the search results either show you figures where a verified antibody was used, or verified antibody products. With this information at your disposal, you can be more confident in the next antibody you select. 

Antibodies tested in any one of the pillars will be labeled like so:

The product specs on the product page will indicate exactly which pillars the antibody has been tested in.

Now, you can be more confident the antibody you choose is specific to its target. For more information, check out our Knowledge Base article.

We’re proud to empower you to run more successful experiments with the help of our enhanced Verification filter. Which antibody validation pillar is most important for your research? Let us know in the comments below and subscribe to our blog to keep up with all our new updates and features!